The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Educational Trust, the charitable arm of DFI, recently appointed new board members.
Bernard (Bernie) Hertlein, FACI, M.ASCE, of GEI Consultants, was elected to serve a two-year term as an At-Large Trustee on the DFI Educational Trust Board. Hertlein has been involved in DFI for many years, serving as a board member of the Institute for nine years and participating on several technical committees, including chairing the Testing and Evaluation Committee. Hertlein currently serves as secretary of ACI committee 228 and chair of committee 336. He is a member of ASTM D18-1 as well as past chair of ASTM C9-64 and former director of the ADSC-IAFD. Hertlein was the recipient of the 2015 DFI Distinguished Service Award.
Mark Rice of McNeil, Silveira, Rice & Wiley was also elected to serve a two-year term on the DFI Educational Trust Board. Rice is an attorney whose practice includes substantial concentration on construction litigation, representing public and private works contractors, design professionals, subcontractors and suppliers. He previously served on the Trust board during 2013-2014, and has been a consistent supporter of Trust events. Rice has served as counsel to many corporate and nonprofit organizations advising their boards on corporate governance.
Zoran “Zac” Curanovic, P.E., of Underpinning and Foundation Skanska in New York, has been elected to serve as a five-year trustee on the Trust board to complete the term of a resigning trustee. Curanovic had been serving as an At-Large Trustee since 2014. In 2016, he led the effort to create the George J. Tamaro Civil Engineering Scholarship at Manhattan College, his alma mater, and spearheaded a successful fundraising drive that raised more than $100,000 for this new scholarship fund. Curanovic is also active in assisting future generations of industry professionals as a mentor through the ACE Mentorship Program at Manhattan College.
